Foodies blog

Shoulder, slow-braised on the bone, for serious depth and heft. With mash, piped (or simply spread) on top. A winter classic, made better still. Pick the meat while still warm, as it makes the job easier. And baking the potatoes first will give you a drier, fluffier mash than the boiled equivalent.

Serves 8

1 shoulder of lamb on the bone

2 carrots, cut into 1cm dice

1 celery stalk, cut into 1 cm dice

1 large onion, cut into 1 cm dice

8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

A sprig of rosemary, leaves finely chopped

Leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme

2-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, to taste

3 tbsp tomato ketchup

5OOml chicken stock

A handful of frozen peas

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the duchesse potato topping

6 large baking potatoes (about 2kg)

200ml double cream

120g unsalted butter

6 egg yolks

-Season the lamb shoulder well and put it on a wire rack in a roasting tray. Cover the tray loosely with foil, place in the oven at 120°C and slow-roast for about 8 hours. Pick the meat out, removing all fat and skin – it is a lot easier to do this while it is still warm. Shred it into decent-sized pieces.

-Heat a spoonful of lamb fat from the roasting tray in a large pan, add the carrots, celery and onion and cook gently until soft. Stir in the garlic and herbs and cook for a couple of minutes longer. Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup and the lamb and mix well. Pour in the stock and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until it has reduced but the mixture is still moist. Check the seasoning.

-For the topping, wrap the potatoes in foil and bake at 200°C for about an hour, until tender. Leave until cool enough to handle, then cut them in half, scoop out the flesh and push it through a potato ricer or a sieve into a bowl.

-Bring the double cream and butter to the boil in a pan and beat them into the potato. Season well, then mix in the egg yolks. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

-Put the lamb mixture into a large pie dish, pressing it right down. Scatter the frozen peas over, then pipe the duchesse mix on top, covering the filling completely. Place in an oven heated to 180°C for about 20 minutes, until piping hot and golden brown.